Apple to drop Galaxy S III Mini from patent suit

ASSURANCE:：Apple said it would withdraw its claims against the smartphone if Samsung remains true to its word not to offer the product in the US market

Bloomberg

Sun, Dec 30, 2012 - Page 13

Apple Inc agreed to drop Samsung Electronics Co’s Galaxy S III Mini from a patent-infringement lawsuit against the South Korea-based company, according to court records.

Apple said it agreed to withdraw the smartphone from its case because Samsung assured the court the phone will not be sold in the US, according to a filing on Friday in federal court in San Jose, California.

The filing, which follows an August verdict in the same court in Apple’s favor on other infringement claims, comes in a second patent case between the two companies, scheduled for trial in 2014.

Apple will withdraw the Galaxy S III Mini “given Samsung’s representation that it is not making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing that product into the US,” the filing said.

Apple claims that the smartphone is available for sale through Amazon.com, and said it will agree to drop its claims against the Galaxy S III Mini only if Samsung’s assurances remain true.

At a Dec. 6 hearing, Apple asked Koh to increase the damages awarded by the jury by US$536 million, while Samsung said the verdict should be reduced by more than US$600 million. Koh has not ruled on the matter.

Samsung and Apple, the world’s two biggest smartphone makers, have each scored victories in their patent disputes fought over four continents since Cupertino, California-based Apple accused Asia’s biggest electronics maker of “slavishly copying” its devices.

The companies are competing for dominance of a global mobile-device market estimated by Yankee Group at US$346 billion this year.

Samsung, facing an antitrust probe by European regulators, has said it will halt efforts to block sales of Apple products in Europe.

Newer smartphones made by both companies, including Samsung’s Galaxy S III and Apple’s iPhone 5, have been added to the case set for trial in 2014.